Editorial: Completing I-49 should be a priority

More than 25 years ago, a plan began to take shape to construct a highway that would run from New Orleans to Canada. Progress on Interstate 49 has been slow, to say the least. For years, little was done to make the north-south road a reality. In recent times, I-49 has been built piecemeal, as funding becomes available.

But Louisiana Treasurer John N. Kennedy has come up with an ingenious funding mechanism that should speed up the process considerably.

Kennedy's idea is to issue bonds against unclaimed money from forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits and unclaimed tax refunds being held in the Louisiana Treasury. The bonds will finance the final portion of the highway that lies between Shreveport and the Arkansas border, then the southern portion.

Up until now, Kennedy told The Daily Advertiser, I-49 North was built using unclaimed money directly.

"It was called 'pay as you go,' " Kennedy said.

This new idea is different. The unclaimed money will be used to leverage the bond money, making more money available in less time.

People will still be able to claim their property, Kennedy said. And more unclaimed money continues to flow into the state treasury each year, making it a reliable source of funding.

The idea is elegant in its simplicity.

Kennedy said it was not original to him - Connecticut had a similar plan at one point but never followed through. To his knowledge, Louisiana will be the first state to generate funds in this way, he said.

The highway has languished unfinished for so long it seems to many in South Louisiana that completing it is almost an impossible dream. But it's not.

Of the 140 miles from the intersection of I-49 and I-10 north of Lafayette, following U.S. 90 down to New Orleans, only about 40 miles of road is left to be completed, said Kam Movassaghi, president of Fenstermaker and former secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development, the agency in charge of constructing I-49. One segment of the unfinished road runs from I-10 to the Iberia Parish line. Another is in St. Mary Parish and the final segment is near New Orleans.

It's an expensive 40 miles, with a projected cost of between $2 billion and $5 billion. The stretch from I-10 to the Lafayette Regional Airport will cost about $750 million, Movassaghi said.

That kind of funding is out of reach. But the idea is to break each segment into smaller, more manageable pieces, Movassaghi said.

But first, the final I-49 North portion from Shreveport to the Arkansas border has to be completed. The first bond issue for about $100 million will go toward that project. The bonds are expected to be issued this month, Kennedy said.

Then, he plans to propose another, smaller bond issue of about $20 million to begin work on a chunk of I-49 South. Once that is completed, the process will be repeated until I-49 runs all the way to New Orleans.

Kennedy also plans to ask Gov. Bobby Jindal to dedicate the projected $100 million budget surplus to completing I-49. He said he also hopes a portion of each year's capital outlay budget will be dedicated to I-49.

With this latest funding source, instead of decades, Movassaghi said, it should take about four years to complete.

That's welcome progress for the citizens of Louisiana.

Kennedy said he believes completing I-49 should be a priority for the state's leaders.

The north-south interstate highway will connect major distribution centers, like Kansas City, to New Orleans, another major distribution center and port. That will benefit the state directly through increased commerce and tax revenues.

The economic value of the highway, Movassaghi said, is "immeasureable."

The end seems to finally be in sight - but only if state leaders work together.

We urge the governor and the Legislature to make completing this long-awaited artery a priority.

It's been a quarter of a century. It's time to finish I-49.

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Editorial: Completing I-49 should be a priority

More than 25 years ago, a plan began to take shape to construct a highway that would run from New Orleans to Canada. Progress on Interstate 49 has been slow, to say the least. For years, little was